Risk & Business Magazine JGS Insurance Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 31

WHY WALK WHEN YOU CAN RUN?
BY: RYAN FLEMING
VICE PRESIDENT, JGS INSURANCE
Take Periodically As Needed –
Quarterly Medicine For The Mind
Why Walk When You Can Run?
T
here are so many events,
phrases, etc…that shape us
from our childhood. At the
time they may seem trivial
or even downright annoying.
Though as we age, their importance
really come to light. In a recent time
of self-reflection, I questioned why it
was that I seemed to rush everywhere
I went. Not on the highway but more
so in the office or at home. I find myself
running from the parking lot to my desk,
or “briskly” walking from my desk to
the bathroom and back. I try to skip as
many steps as possible when confronted
with a staircase that needs conquering
and so on. This led me to ask myself why
and sure enough the answer was clear.
Because my father told me to. That’s
right, no complicated psychoanalysis
here. No big huge event that caused some
sort of rift in the time space continuum.
Just plain old… cuz dad said so.
Let me elaborate. As a child I was always
up for helping out, or at least doing
what I thought was helping when my
father had a project. Work, home, boat…
whatever it was, I was helping. If he
needed something, I would be there to
go get it and as I would turn to make the
walk to grab whatever it was he needed
I would often hear, “Why walk when you
can run?” Not an aggressive tone, just
very as a matter of fact as if to say “you
should bring an umbrella when it rains”
or “put on socks before putting on your
shoes”. He has always had a work ethic
that to me seemed unmatched and still
does to this day. It was simple to him.
Hard work equals success and not only
hard work in the big things, hard work in
ALL things. He did everything fast even
when “fast” wasn’t required. Looking
back, it was a way for him to set his
desired pace. Getting massive amounts
of work done required him to work fast
and think fast. Any deviation from that
pace would completely derail his train of
progress. We’ve all had days which we just
feel sluggish. We’ve also all had those days
where ideas and energy flowed freely. A
day’s pace definitely dictates its final work
product.
Now I’m not saying everyone should be
running around the office all day (I’m
not saying they shouldn’t either, LOL).
Sometimes we get caught up in trying
to outsmart the project. We may get
overwhelmed trying to digest the massive
tasks ahead and we spend too much time
in our heads walking instead of running.
I’m definitely guilty of this, but if we can
increase our pace, productivity is the
byproduct. If we can just force ourselves
be move more quickly in the small
things, we force our pace to increase
physiologically. It’s basic biology at the
cellular level. If you need energy, you have
to go get it. It doesn’t come to you on its
own. This is why working out makes you
feel more energetic.
Some smart guy named Isaac Newton
once said “An object in motion stays
in motion and an object at rest stays at
rest.” I would encourage everyone to look
for ways to run instead of walking and
start with the little things. Make it part
of your foundation and you can surely
build huge amounts of momentum in
everything you do. +
Ryan Fleming offers an understanding
and a refreshing change of perspective.
His 14 years of experience in the insurance
industry has allowed him to understand
business from many different angles and
in turn, provide solutions to improve
productivity. Ryan has been speaking for
almost 10 years on various topics, focusing
mainly on improving staff mindsets,
industry understanding and controlling
loss.
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